Fresno State Athletics
'Dogs head to the MW tournament in Las Vegas
4/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Taylor Martinez
taymar11@mail.fresnostate.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's tennis team hits the road this week to compete in the Mountain West Championship in Las Vegas, Nev. Friday afternoon, the No. 8 Bulldogs will face No. 1 seed, and regular-season champions Utah State. The Aggies are top-ranked team in the conference at No. 56. Match time is slated for 3 p.m. PT at the Fertitta Tennis Complex and will stream live on the Mountain West Network. Live scoring will also be available via Statbroadcast.com.
Up Next
The winner of the Fresno State-Utah State matchup will face the winner of No. 4 seed UNLV/No. 5 seed New Mexico in the semifinals on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Match Info
Match #26 • April 29, 2016
#8 seed Fresno State (9-16, 0-6 MW) vs. #1 seed Utah State (21-7, 6-1 MW)
3 p.m. PT • Las Vegas, Nev. (Fertitta Tennis Complex)
Live Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Scoring: StatBroadcast.com
Series Record: Fresno State leads 10-2
Last Meeting: Aggies won 4-0 in Logan, Utah on April 10, 2016
Bulldog Aces
• The duo of Euan McIntosh and freshman Mantas Bugailiskis is 10-3 this spring at the No. 1 doubles position. On March 24, the two defeated No. 18 Chi-Shan Jao and Dominik Koepfer, their highest ranked opponent of the spring.
• The win vaulted the doubles team into the rankings for the first time, coming in at No. 62 on April 5. The two are currently ranked No. 79 (April 26).
• McIntosh currently lead the team in dual wins with 13. Youssef Hassan and Nikolas Papic are right behind them with 11, while freshman Patrik Pech is also in double digits with 10.
• McIntosh holds the team lead in overall victories with 16, while Hassan is sitting just behind him at 15. • Bulldog head coach Luke Shields will see a familiar face across the courts in the team's first match at the Mountain West Championship. Shields will face his younger brother Clancy, for the second time within the last month.
Rolling into the Tournament
• Euan McIntosh has been the Bulldogs top performer over the last month, posting a 7-2 record in the team's last 10 matches. The junior's two losses during that span have come in a three-set match at Boise State while the other was against the then-No. 1 player in the country Dominik Koepfer of Tulane.
Senior Leader
• The Bulldogs lone senior Nikolas Papic took over the top spot in the lineup during the last week of March. He has since gone 4-3 at No. 1.
• His third win of the stretch was the biggest of his career as he defeated No. 112, and 2015 MW Co-Conference Player of the Year, Freddy Gelbrich 6-3, 6-3.
Finding His Footing
• After going through a rough stretch during the middle of the season that saw him drop seven straight matches, freshman Patrik Pech began to turn his season around during the last half of the season.
• Prior to a two-match skid to end the year, Pech had gone 7-2 during a 10-match stretch.
• Pech was one of two mid-year additions to the Bulldogs along with fellow freshman Mantas Bugailiskis.
Players Mentioned
